Generally, I'm all thumbs when it comes to a rebus, but this time I nailed it early on. In this case, the puzzle was ALL THUMBS.
The theme answers are:
20A: Expresses scorn (THUMBs one's nose) with 1D: Barnum midget (Tom THUMB). A dead giveaway for most.
29A: 1966 Rolling Stones hit (Under My THUMB), with 33D: Kind of sketch (THUMBnail).
43A: Scan (THUMB through), with 26D: It may stick out (sore THUMB).
51A: Human hand characteristic (opposable THUMB), with 56D: Encouraging sign (THUMBs up).
Another nice surprise...it's also a pangram, which means several Scrabbly letters.
Much of the fill is only four- and five-letter words, but there are some good ones.
15A: 20 Mule Team compound (Borax). We had Boraxo just the other day.
16A: Canadian dollar bird (loon). Green Genius had a picture of a Canadian dollar on his blog last Wednesday...so, a gimme. He's also honored at 35A: Eco-friendly (green). If I'm not mistaken, there's some connection between that and his blog name.
26A: Blowhard's speech (screed). The word itself makes me think of fingernails on a chalkboard.
38A: Nymph of Greek myth (Naiad). Remember that name. It comes up often.
41A: Prison-related (penal).
47A: Tubular pasta (ziti). A little late, Brent, but here it is. See his comment last Sunday that ziti should have appeared near nose or lips on the Getting Ahead puzzle.
Thanks to playing Scrabble with my mother many years ago, I knew 48A: Place to dock (quay). That was a word she frequently played, and I remember challenging her the first time she used it.
58A: Rhone feeder (Saone). European rivers and I don't get along, but I was able to get this one from the crosses.
Other good stuff includes 4D: Tchotchkes (trinkets)...I hope the clue doesn't ever appear as an answer, though; 29D: Dickens's __ Heep (Uriah); 32D: Big Three meeting place (Yalta); 38D: Anxiety may be a symptom of it (neurosis); and 44D: Rappers' skill (rhymes).
I like that pane and pone appear side by side...at 52D: Plexiglas unit and 53D: Corn bread, respectively.
Here's the (again, 100% accurate) grid.
So far, twelve of the sixteen blogs are covered for my vacation. There are available slots for both Monday and Tuesday puzzles...easy to solve, easy to blog. I'll walk you through the whole process, and you'll be able to get help from fellow guest bloggers. Let me know if you're interested. It'll be fun...that's a promise.
See you tomorrow.
Linda G
7 comments:
Linda, I don't see an email addy for you; which Monday or Mondays are in play?
Todays puzzle was fun and I actually found it easy...only needed to google Mille Lacs!
I agree with you about needing bright lights but can deal with the numbers thanks to my store bought reading glasses!!!
The chicken was Great!!!!
have a good day
Bob
Wendy, the open Mondays are September 24 and October 1. If you'd like to do one or both, leave an email address in the comments section...I'll delete the comment as soon as I read it (and I check pretty often).
Good job, Bob! I'm making the chicken again on Sunday. We'll have five more here, so I'd better buy a lot!
Pangram?
Except in crossword puzzles, I've never heard the word "screed"(26A) uttered or seen it in writing.
Never heard of Opposable thumb(51A)
I thought the puzzle was really easy for a Wednesday, even with the rebus. What you couldn't get across you got from the downs and vice versa.
I'm with you on 4D. I never want to see that word again.
JD, a pangram (as it refers to a crossword puzzle) means that all 26 letters of the alphabet appear. A true pangram has much stricter guidelines.
We talk about opposable thumbs in our house a lot. The lack of one is why the dogs can't open the door for themselves, make their own dinner, etc.
And screed? Yeah, only in a puzzle.
Thanks for the clarifications, Linda, I learn something new every day at my advanced age.
I enjoy you posts because of the insights that never occur to me. They really improve my puzzle solving
a.) now This was a true rebus. as i was able to draw a thumb where called for.
b.) hooray for cornbread/pone in a puzzle.
c.) never heard screed defined like that, but as a mason, screed is a Very common term meaning to flatten a cement or plaster surface (or any material). and a name for the straight-edged tool used to do so, as well.
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